


Stars and Sunflowers

by mggislife2789 (dontshootmespence)



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, First Date, Fluff, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22247326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontshootmespence/pseuds/mggislife2789
Summary: Spencer decides to throw caution to the wind and go on a date with Austin - a woman he saved from the clutches of a killer.Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry. ;)
Relationships: Austin (Criminal Minds)/Spencer Reid
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	Stars and Sunflowers

After adjusting his blazer one final time, Spencer knocked on the door to Austin’s apartment. She’d asked him out. He stumbled his way into a yes and now here he was. 

When she opened the door, his mouth dropped open slightly. She looked gorgeous in dark wash jeans, a Metallica t-shirt and a cropped red jacket.

“Spencer! You look- you look good.”

He swallowed the spit building up in his mouth. “You too,” he breathed. “Oh, these are for you. 

As she ushered him into the apartment with one hand, she took the bouquet in the other. It was sunflowers and white roses. “Spencer,” she said softly. “These are beautiful. Sunflowers are my favorite. How’d you know?”

“Call it an educated guess. You ready to go?”

Smiling, she turned toward the kitchen. “Yea, just let me put these in a vase with some water. You gonna tell me where we’re going? You only told me to eat dinner because we weren’t going to eat.”

That was too pedestrian a first date for Spencer Reid. “Nope,” he replied. “You’ll just have to wait until we get there.”

—-

It was a perfect night for what he had in mind. Too cold to enjoy outside, unfortunately, but inside it was perfect. Earlier in the week, he’d called ahead to a guy he knew that worked there and begged him for late-night, after-hours access. “Oh my god, Spencer, are we at a planetarium?” Austin asked as Spencer slowed the car into the parking lot across the street.

“Yup! I know someone that works here, so I asked if I could have the main room for a date.” He chewed the side of his cheek - a nervous habit. “I figured it’s too cold to sit outside and watch the stars, but inside it could work. But is it too cheesy, I mean we could-”

Austin placed her finger to his lips and laughed. “Absolutely not, this is perfect.”

“Okay good, then I figured maybe the coffee place by your apartment for hot cocoa?”

“Perfect!”

Grabbing his hand, she bolted across the street, laughing as she pulled her jacket a bit closer. The bitter cold night air bit at Spencer’s fingers as he used his friends keys to open the door, but they finally made it inside. “Have you ever been to this planetarium before?” He asked expectantly.

“No, you?”

“Yea,” he said, eyes alight. “Follow me.”

This time he grabbed her hand as he led her upstairs to the star-gazing area. Momentarily, he flipped on the lights, allowing Austin to find a seat before he began the show. Normally, there’d be sound to accompany it, but he muted it, hoping they’d just talk instead.

He grabbed a seat next to her and they leaned back, silence falling between them. 

“Tell me about the stars,” she said softly. “I can tell you know all about them.” She sounded impressed.

Excitedly, he sat up slightly and pointed to the upper left corner of the overhead screen. “See those seven stars up there? The ones that kind of look like a chair falling over backward?”

“Yea, yea! What is it?”

“That’s Camelopardalis - the giraffe. It’s normally pretty faint, so if you aren’t looking for it, you might not notice it. But it was discovered by Petrus Plancius around 1612. And even though it’s known as the giraffe, it’s actually Greek for camel and leopard. The ancient Greeks viewed giraffe’s long necks and their spots as a combo of both animals.” 

He found himself rambling and then stopped, glancing at her expecting to see boredom or disinterest. But instead he saw her smiling - not at the sky, but at him.

“Tell me another one. No Ursa Major, Ursa Minor. Something really interesting.”

Scanning the sky, he focused in on the raven. “That’s Corvus,” he said, pointing toward the bottom of the screen. “Also known as the raven or crow. It was the sacred bird of the god, Apollo. He tells the raven to watch over his pregnant lover, Coronis, but she falls for another, a human man, and leaves Apollo. Angry at the raven for its mismanagement of the situation, Apollo scorches his wings and leaves them blackened.”

“Keep going,” she said. She removed the armrest separating the seats and moved closer to him, cuddling into his side.

“Um, okay, so that one…”

For nearly two hours, Spencer regaled Austin with the tales of Cygnus, the swan, who represented a Spartan queen named Leda, Hydra, the largest of the 88 recognized constellations, named and discovered by Ptolemy in the second century, and Monoceros, Latin for unicorn, which was also discovered by Plancius. Then there was Vela and Ophiuchus and Sagitta and Vulpecula. He told her anything and everything he possibly knew before realizing he’d been doing most of the speaking. 

Obviously, he could’ve gone on for hours, but for the first time in a long time, he just wanted to enjoy the silence - his arm reaching behind her to bring her just a little bit closer. She nearly dozed off with her head on his chest. “As much as I’d love to fall asleep here, I think your friend might have a problem with that.”

Spencer smiled and sat up. “Probably. Want that hot cocoa now?”

“Definitely, and then, I mean if you want we could go back to my place and watch a movie.” She seemed almost hopefully, wanting any excuse to prolong their time together.

Leaning down, Spencer pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. “It’s a date.”


End file.
